Meizu M8 / miniOne closer to production, litigation

Last we saw Meizu's curiously familiar M8 handheld device, it was looking like it still had a long ways to go before we'd actually see one out in the wild. As these latest tantalizing shots show, however, the device seems to be rapidly winding its way into reality whether Apple likes it or not, also picking up a new name in the process: the miniOne. Although if that one sticks, Meizu could well be facing problems of originality on multiple fronts, as the admittedly-catchy name is already in use by another company and presumably trademarked. C'mon Meizu, we know you're fans of Apple, but this is taking the imitation a little too far. Unfortunately, there's no further word on specs for the device, though you can get a couple more good looks at it after the break.

[Via Meizu Me]

[psxp @ Feb 13th 2007 4:40PM]

nice.. Windows Mobile 6 perhaps?

[Cloudiyoung @ Feb 14th 2007 7:36AM]

NO，it's WINCE.Meizu said it can be desing more free
MS has released Windows Moblie 6,you can see some pics on the Internet

[thomas @ Dec 24th 2007 5:20AM]

Meizu's clone is hot... but is missing one key function the DigitalRise D99i and D69i have... the Shake Control function... youtube vid is on this page...

http://www.chinagrabber.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1403

only thing is the D69i is a dual band phone...

[flink @ Feb 13th 2007 4:46PM]

Copy apple here, copy apple there....b.s.
This is the natural evolution of the phone. what other design could there that takes full advantage of the size and has not keyboard?
Anybody with 2 cents worth of brains could come up with an "apple iphone" design.
what will make the iphone different is the software.
trouble with apple is they are tooooooo slooooooow to bring out new product.

[Ian Piper @ Feb 14th 2007 10:24AM]

Funny how Apple's innovative designs are always obvious after the fact, isn't it?

[Leandro Almeida @ Feb 15th 2007 5:05PM]

Off cuorse Apple takes long to lanch new product! They still sellling well the currently ipod. I've had zune, creative etc... But The Ipod even without a custom equilizer sounds better. So there is not a serious competition for apple. If there wer, I would have a 4" all though screen ipod video long time ago.

It became Iphone. I will wait for next gen. Iphone cause 3G suppport.

[Fenway Beer Man @ Sep 17th 2007 7:30AM]

Ian Piper, it wasn't just obvious after the fact. I remember in school when I was bored and supposed to be paying attention, for some reason I liked to sketch up "prototypes" of different gadget designs: phones, mp3 players, etc. A device like the iPhone was one of them. Hmmm, a device that has nothing but a screen take up the whole front surface and is longer than it is wider to fit in the palm of your hand? Wow, that sure is a difficult idea to come up with.

Not knocking Aples innovation though, the real innovation is what's INSIDE the machine, not outside of it.

[Jim @ Feb 13th 2007 4:47PM]

Oh get a life Meizu! If a company can put together this technology, why the heck can't they generate an original design or two?

[Matt E. @ Jul 25th 2008 3:03AM]

Yeah, like Apple's was innovative.
Samsung Armani?
LG Prada?

Both were out before Apple launched iPhone.

[cs32 @ Feb 13th 2007 4:48PM]

Odd how if you create a phone in the shape of a square with rounded corners, then you are ripping off Apple. Using another products name, yea that is wrong, but nobody else does that, right?

[Joel Berggren @ Dec 7th 2007 6:14PM]

Yes naming the iPhone iPhone after apple had invented the "i" prefix with the iMac and iPod, even though another company had a product with the same name that no one had ever heard of or bought, is exactly the same as ripping off the exact design of the most notorious gadget ever released. Thanks for opening my eyes!

[Matt @ Feb 13th 2007 4:50PM]

ok im not going to say its doesnt look like the iphone cause it does. but it is probably a hell of alot cheaper.



kudos to meizu

[required @ Feb 13th 2007 4:52PM]

Do you people actually believe Apple was the first to put a rectangle screen on a rectangle object?

[Jean-Michel Decombe @ Feb 13th 2007 6:36PM]

> Do you people actually believe Apple was the first to put a rectangle screen on a rectangle object?

Hmmm... on a mobile device that invented the PDA space and in fact looks a lot like the iPhone, probably, yes. It is called the Apple Newton and it was designed more than 15 years ago...

http://www.blakespot.com/list/images/mp2100.jpg

[Ted Nugent @ Feb 13th 2007 11:07PM]

Short answer: Yes.

These are the same people who think the Apple v PC ads are spot on. According to Apple, as a PC user, I've never listened to music, watched movies, or looked at pictures on my computer. All I've done is create spreadsheets.


Apple has the lowest common denominator locked up. The other 90% of the market uses Windows.

[Jim @ Feb 13th 2007 4:52PM]

It's not the shape or even the screen, its the exact placement, number and configuration of the buttons. It's designed to LOOK like the iPhone. Why follow? Perhaps to ride a wave or to fool the odd buyer who thinks they're getting the Apple version.

[max @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:02AM]

its a lot cheaper and has better specs retard

[Jim @ Dec 3rd 2007 1:54PM]

retard? Gee, what a way to make your point (which was that a copycat phone that isn't available yet has better "specs"). The N95 has better specs (higher res camera, 3G, etc) and is available now. But it isn't an iPhone copy.

[angelsvairwaves1 @ Feb 13th 2007 5:00PM]

hey flink you dumbass its virtually the exact same as the iphone, right down to the UI. just because you "hate" apple doesnt mean you need to give extreme praise to all the knockoffs that come around because of apples extremely well built and designed products.

[mario @ Feb 14th 2007 9:24AM]

Apple do produce great concepts, however their execution nearly always fall short of true brilliance. The iPhone and iPod all fall short because of the lack of true serviceability. If the battery fails in either one, you end up having to send it back to Apple for service. They should take a feather out of the cap of other manufacturers here and use a an interchangeable module approach much like pretty much every other phone manufacturer does.

[netposer @ Feb 13th 2007 5:01PM]

Funny how the iPhone is not even out and people are ripping Apple off now? Hoo Hoo, I invented a buttonless phone, tell em fred.

[emiliano @ Feb 13th 2007 5:03PM]

If this makes it out to the market before the iphone Kudos to Meizu. for developing a phone/pda that physically copies another phone within a few months time. Even id it is a blatant rip off thats amazing at the speed of which they are coping.

[Fluke @ Feb 13th 2007 5:08PM]

I love all this bickering. Its so pointless its amusing. What you people don't understand is Apple loves this. They love that they show the world their idea for a mobile phone, and without even trying it, the world starts to feverishly copy it. They all have iPod syndrome.

Why is Apple loving this? Because when all is said and done, and the iPhone is released, as well as all of these other iPhone clones, it will be painfully apparent which product is superior. And Apple will once again show that they know how to build a solid product, while the rest of them know how to make something quick and cheap.

I laugh at the short term memory that plagues the internet. Does anyone ever think what Apple has done in the past? Does anyone remember that little device called the iPod? And how many copycats have come along to try to outdo the iPod? And how many of them succeeded? And whats so damn special about the iPod? Its just a square piece of plastic with rounded corners and a screen on it, right? Yeah, right.

Apple products might be shiny and sexy looking, but thats not what makes Apple products better than the rest. Its the whole end user experience. And if you don't get that by now you never will, and you should just go buy a Zune right now and call it a day.

[bluemonq @ Feb 13th 2007 9:53PM]

Pay no attention to the Newton behind the curtain!

[adaminc @ Feb 13th 2007 5:12PM]

perhaps apple ripped someone else off?

[ASTROBOT @ Feb 13th 2007 5:15PM]

Delicious!! Apple should just shut up and share the wealth. Sooner or later majority of the phones out there are going to all have the same functionality and look.

I don't see people complaining about LCD monitors or Laptops. They are look the same.

Any new technology that's coming out are all going to be eating up by every company that can get their hand on it and they are all going to saturate us with it sooner or later so live with it.

Take a long look at history. CD/DVD rom, remote control, USB flash drive, HD, and the list go on and on. THe only difference are the brand name and the facelift. Everything on the inside are gonna be the same shit.

[resource @ Feb 13th 2007 5:24PM]

I like this form factor.
Phones have been moving this way for a while.

What Apple did was add iTunes, a nice 8 GB flash drive, a hot looking mobile browser and make it thin.

It's the software that matters.
Apple knows that.

The hardware tends to end up being the same with most tech.

Relax people.

[jason @ Feb 13th 2007 5:29PM]

It goes further then that, it has nothing to do with * killer products, it has to do with marketing, and Apple has a phenominal marketing machine. For you ipod comment, there are dozens of products with superior features and quality, however they do not have the same brand following and marketing that Apple does. This is what Apple does, and they do it well. The Sansa mp3 players have similair drive sized and form factor, well built, and nice user interaction, technically a superior product to the Ipod, but does not have the marketing. Same goes for the Samsung T9B (soon to be available in the US, the T9 is currently available), superior features, A2DP support, up to 8G, same size as the Nano (maybe a tiny bit larger), solid build.

As for the Iphone, this is the natural progression of the market, company a releases a product, company b - z wants a piece of that market. If the quality is the same as the Iphone, and not all chinese knockoffs are of cheap build quality, then more power to them, although the UI definately looks iPhoneish.... Traditionally the companies that like to copy other products, will take those features, and add or improve upon them, and this is what drives the market. Pitty those knockoffs won't ever make it to US shores since the FCC refuses to certify many of the copy products from the Asian market due to pressure from large corps here. Welcome to America, which company would you like to obey today... :)

[matt @ Feb 13th 2007 5:37PM]

looks like this one has 3G. see the camera on the front?

[Ryan @ Feb 13th 2007 5:40PM]

So, let me get this straight. Apple releases what a product looks like, and if another companies product looks even close to it, you assume they ripped off Apple? I bet if these guys had come up with this design first, you wouldn't say "Oh, Apple is stealing [insert company other than Apple here]'s idea". Please, for the love of God, stop being Apple's bitch.

[doctorSpoc @ Feb 13th 2007 5:47PM]

C'mon Ryan... get some glasses this isn't a close design.. it's a xerox... they didn't even TRY to make it even a little different... nothing... that's just being lazy...

[doctorSpoc @ Feb 13th 2007 5:41PM]

need to change the name from Meizu to Me Too...

[Frankenstein Black @ Feb 13th 2007 5:41PM]

QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS (All be it rhetorical ones ;^)...

Q: Which mobile operator outside of China carries/supports Meizu devices?
A: Exactly, None! (at least not here).

Q: Which mobile operator is planning on supporting Meizu devices in the US?
A: Exactly, None! (As of today).

Q: What technology is this device using?
A: China’s own TD-SCDMA and GSM.

Q: So which US operator can (or will) use this?
A: Exactly, None! (Cingy has iPhone, T-mobile won’t piss apple off because they want iPhone 2.0, Tech not compatible with Verizon or Sprint CDMA & they want iPhone 3.0).

Q: So why not just order it grey market through, say expansys?
A: You can do that, but why? You wont have any data service (voice & SMS yes, Data No) and what’s the point of that? (all that capability and no email, web surfing or video on your US service).

This is really just another China clone, but unlike other electronic devices it wont play well here unless a mobile operator says yes. HEY CHINA, WE AINT HATING. ENJOY YOUR PHONE, era CLONE!

[jamar @ Feb 14th 2007 10:57PM]

I believe that this little thing called GPRS would give it data without the need for 3G. Also, Meizu's successfully sold other products in the States before- this should be no different.

[CTG @ Feb 13th 2007 5:42PM]

I bet it doesn't have Multi-touch. That would be the key difference.

No way Meizu jumped into Multi-touch technology and produced a consumer device this quickly. There's a reason why it took Apple over 2 years, the same reason why they stand alone.

If it's a single input touchscreen like the Prada phone (not to imply the LG Prada is a copy), then emulating the iPhone this quickly is no great technological feat as some claim. Any manufacturer can whip up a WM smartphone like this. The question is what happens when I press two fingers against the screen at the same time.

[pritesh thaker @ Feb 13th 2007 5:51PM]

apple didn't develop multitouch....fingerworks did.

search google or try this

http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/22/some-iphone-touchscreen-roots-splained-by-fingerworks-inventors/

but like the previous posts say...if someone rips off apple, look out...

so in this case...apple paid for the tech...not created it but we know the drill...lets go on believing they think of everything.

[craig @ Feb 13th 2007 6:12PM]

Multitouch is meaningless. In all of Apple's demo videos, multitouch was shown exactly once. It was demo'd zooming and panning an image which, while sexy, is ultimately meaningless to phone users. Not one other aspect of the UI, including the onscreen keyboard, used multitouch.

Multitouch hasn't proven that it's actually useful for getting work done in ANY application, much less for anything on a 3.5" screen. It is only for useless bragging rights for Apple.

The only real differentiating feature of the iPhone is the iPod dock connector and iTunes integration. Everything else is old news and the form factor is attractive but lacking in function.

[Matt @ Feb 13th 2007 5:59PM]

CTG, you obviously know NOTHING about producing hardware or software AT ALL. Go find an industrial designer, and ask them how long it takes to design the case.Note that they'll have to make sure that the case they design accommodates all the internal components, especially the antenna. To do that, they'll have to get together with the designers of all those components. I'm sure you're aware of how long it would take to schedule a meeting with 5-10 busy people--probably a week or so. Then, after that meeting, they probably won't get it right the first time, so there will be a meeting to present the design, a revision, and then a new design.

After all of that, the industrial designer has to track down materials and manufacturing processes. In all, it probably takes 3-4 months just to do a first run of a case.

Simultaneously, there will be a team already designing a motherboard. That takes many, many months--if they're lucky, 3. The operating system will need to be integrated as well. It takes about a month to do an untested board support package for Windows CE--if you're lucky.

Can you yet see how long it takes to do these things? Do you feel stupid yet?

[kibets @ Feb 13th 2007 5:44PM]

Well Meizu is a great company and proved their products with the M6 Mini Player. Now they have US distribution in retail channels (even sold in Walgreens!)

http://www.walgreens.com/search/search_results.jsp?_dyncharset=ASCII&term=meizu

I welcome this Windows Mobile 6 powered device!

[flamer's grill @ Feb 13th 2007 5:50PM]

Remember, this phones runs Windows CE 6.0, NOT Windows Mobile 6. WinCE 6.0 will be the platform used for Windows Mobile 7, 8, 9, etc....

[CTG @ Feb 13th 2007 6:47PM]

"apple didn't develop multitouch....fingerworks did."

Wayne Westerman himself admitted that the iPhone took Multi-touch beyond any application previously shown in the article you provided.

"The one difference that's actually quite significant is the iPhone is a display with the multi-touch, and the FingerWorks was just an opaque surface. That's all I'm going to say there. There's definite similarities, but Apple's definitely taken it another step by having it on a display."

The difference between those FingerWorks devices and the iPhone are night and day.

[Matt @ Feb 13th 2007 5:55PM]

In particular, the design I proposed was a PDA-sized, touch screen-only device with soft buttons on the bottom and two hard buttons below the screen.

[Matt @ Feb 13th 2007 5:55PM]

People accusing anyone of ripping off Apple are not using their brains. I'm a researcher who repeatedly proposed a phone VERY similar to the iPhone to a major CPU manufacturer as early as 3 years ago. The fact is, it's an obvious design.

All of these companies coming out with phones that look like the iPhone started on them well before Apple announced the phone. There's no way they could have knocked off a phone in the month since the announcement. Just tooling the machines to make the case would have taken a month!

[SOCOMRAIDER @ Feb 13th 2007 7:56PM]

"I'm a researcher who repeatedly proposed a phone VERY similar to the iPhone to a major CPU manufacturer as early as 3 years ago."

BS, keep telling yourself that.

[ascot @ Feb 13th 2007 6:01PM]

oh come on, are they ACTUALLY kidding?

[ASTROBOT @ Feb 13th 2007 6:02PM]

Maybe Apple shouldn't manufactured their stuff in China. LOL! Both side wins. Take it to China for cheap labor but the price you have to pay. Its all even out.

http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=14915

[len @ Feb 13th 2007 6:05PM]

Apparently the lack of physical buttons and translucent graphics is the property of Apple. Who knew?

The mark of good user interface for mobile phones is one-handed operation, you know, so you can actually use it while dragging your luggage across the airport. In that respect, the Apple UI is next to useless. It will be a tragedy if these devices start mimicking Apple in function as well as form.

[ASTROBOT @ Feb 13th 2007 6:06PM]

So pretty much they can't really bitch about the clone since most of the world products are manufactured in China for freaking cheap labor. If you are talking about ripping off, tell the laborers how much they are getting ripped off by these huge Companies.

[Lloyd @ Feb 13th 2007 6:07PM]

You're simplifying the design of the device too much - yes the natural progression is towards a rectangular device mostly made up of screen but Apple has worked long and hard to build a brand image just to have some company trade off the fashionalbe looks of Apple products - gloss black, chrome rear, iPhone interface - cummon!

You may say that this is all natural progression too but that's just demonstrating a lack of imagination. If it's so obvious then why has it taken so long for a device like this to appear - there have been 100s of PDA designs - none of them resembling the iPhone this much. It's the skill of Apple's designers to create products that people say ¨well it's obvious that was the way things were going¨ - yet before Apple produced them, no one else had the vision.

Give Apple credit where it's due and don't let this cheap imitation take advantage of Apple's established brand identity.

[L. M. Lloyd @ Feb 13th 2007 7:11PM]

Lloyd (this will get confusing fast), you mean no one had the vision EXCEPT Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, LG and HTC, right? All of those companies have shown concept phones that were just big screens with very few buttons. Black and chrome have been mainstays of electronic devices for a couple of decades now, and I really don't think Apple can take much credit for them. Surely you aren't going to seriously argue that the designers at LG and Prada staged some ninja raid into the Cupertino offices of Apple to get a peak at the iPhone so that they could copy the gloss black, mainly screen, rectangular with rounded corners and very few buttons design of the iPhone, six months before even Cingular execs had seen the final design, are you?

Yes, this particular phone is clearly a quick copy of the iPhone, probably built around another phone they already had in development. But by the same token it is also pretty obvious that Apple had no problem ripping off the award-winning design of the LG/Prada phone, and just giving it a couple of touches to make it look more Apple.